This is to begin discussion of E6 camapaign, which is, as of yet, a long ways off. I want to make sure it's clear this is in no way an attempt to usurp the ERSA campaign! I would like to GM an E6, and rather than wait to switch and then begin preparation, I wouldn't mind the task of gradually prepping while there is no pressure to have to do so.
What I'd like to do, subject to all kinds of buy-in:
1. Set the campaign in the same world as (and using the exact same characters as) what we started with using the HARP system. Basically I'd like to pickup where we left off, adding in Tony and Eric's characters as we saw fit. If you wanted to make a different character (Ray, Aaron, Sean) that would be fine too, although I'd be prefer you kept the old ones. Mechanically, I'm cool with any changes you would have wanted to take on for your new incarnation of said character.
2. I'd like to toy with the theorycrafting that Ray and I have been doing with variable normalization. An example of this would be replacing the d20 roll with a 3d6 or (my preference) a 2d10 roll. The reason for this is that, even with the chaos and randomness of combat, there is still an "average" of efforts that should be reflected in the dice rolls. Just as as the 3d6 stat rolls of old D&D yielded an array of "average" stats, (because let's face it, people with average intelligence far exceed geniuses), we felt combat and other rolls should follow a similar model. There are other theorycrafting scenarios that I would toy with, such as reducing certain opposed checks to a lower die type, so as to reduce the intense variability out of it. For example, a Large Minotaur with a Strength bonus of +6 has a +10 static modifier on a bullrush check compared to Aria Smith's +1. On a d20, the solution set means that Aria will succeed at far more of these tests than you would think possible, because of her potential to roll a high number and the minotaur's potential to role a low number. If we reduced the die that determined that result to a d12, for example, then Aria's window of success would be far smaller: she would only succeed on a roll of 11 or 12, and even then only if the minotaur rolled a 1 or 2 respectively.
3. In my version of E6, I am considering making the following changes:
-30 point buy for stats, with a gain of +1 to an ability at each level 2-6. No stat may ever be higher than 20, no more than 2 stats above 17.
-Feats available at all 6 levels, however at levels 2,4, and 5, the feats that players would be able to pick from would only include Skill Focus, or any feat that gives a +2 to 2 skills bonus.
-All player begin with an additional 5 skill points, to be used on Craft, Profession, and Perform skills only.
-Hide and Move Silently become class skills for all classes.